Boyne City's Beek receives Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award

BOYNE CITY — The U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board recently announced David Beek of Boyne City has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to Brazil in the field of cultural studies.

Beek is a 2010 graduate of Boyne City High School, holds an undergraduate degree from Central Michigan University and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of South Carolina.

Beek will research at the Federal University of Paraíba in João Pessoa as part of a project to foster mutual cultural understanding between the United States and Brazil regarding the respective nations’ shared history of slavery.

Beek is one of more than 800 U.S. citizens who will teach, conduct research, and/or provide expertise abroad for the 2019-2020 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.

Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as record of service and demonstrated leadership in their respective fields.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide.

Since its establishment in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program has given more than 390,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds and fields the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

Fulbrighters address critical global challenges in all disciplines, while building relationships, knowledge, and leadership in support of the long-term interests of the United States.

Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in many fields, including 59 who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 84 who have received Pulitzer Prizes and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.

For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State, visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright or contact the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Press Office by telephone (202) 632-6452 or e-mail ECA-Press@state.gov.